Uorn to be wild, a male green turtle at
the Grand Cayman turtle farm waits to
be freed to breed inthe mating lagoon.
Several thousand captively bred young
are raised here intanks (above, drained
for cleaning). Some are released; most
are sold for stew and steaks.
Promoters claim that farming boosts
turtle populations and safely supplies
demand. Critics argue that it fuels appetites
for endangered animals, making poaching
more likely Ironically,tourists pay half a
million dollars ayear to glimpse the farm's
greens, once so plentiful in the Caymans
that one of Columbus's crew said the sea
"seemed to be full of little rocks."
Sea Turtles
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